Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential for photoreceptor (PR) development, structure and function, and their availability in the outer retina is predominantly mediated by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a cellular monolayer juxtaposed to the PR outer segments. Because PRs lack enzymatic machinery to generate critical PUFA intermediates from dietary precursors, they rely on the RPE to coordinate multiple steps...

Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP) facilitate antigen presentation. Variation in ERAP1 and ERAP2 genes underwent selection during the Black Death and impact autoimmune disease susceptibility. We assess the burden of functionally impactful variants present in ERAP1 and ERAP2 in 2 cohorts of patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC)). We analysed the Southa...

Low-level winds over Antarctica are overwhelmingly controlled by the local orography. They, in turn, exert a large control over sea ice formation and transport. In this work, we investigate the relationship between Antarctic sea ice and the parameterized orographic gravity wave drag in the UK CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6) climate model, HadGEM3-GC3.1-LL. We present results from sensitivity tests in whic...

Individual variation in foraging and social behavior provides insights into how animals exploit and share local resources and habitats. In this study, we examined the foraging mode and social behavior for 55 Arctic charr (fork length = 5–17 cm) during summer in four freshwater lava cave ponds in the subarctic Lake Mývatn area in NE-Iceland. As expected for lentic waters, cave-living Arctic charr were highly mobile when searchi...

Non‐medicinal approaches for controlling sea lice ( Lepeophtheirus salmonis ) infestations, such as freshwater (FW) treatments, have been increasingly implemented to support more sustainable parasite control in aquaculture. This study evaluated the efficacy of FW treatment against sea lice under controlled experimental conditions and assessed the potential development of resistance across multiple generations. Sea lice populat...

Osteoarthritis results in deterioration of articular cartilage, the soft tissue covering articulating surfaces of bones in joints like the knee and hip. Cyclical mechanical stimulation of articular cartilage results in synthesis of cartilage matrix, suggesting that therapeutic mechanical stimulation might be beneficial for cartilage repair in osteoarthritis. Prior studies identify ion channels and cytoskeletal molecules as com...

The Arctic cryosphere is undergoing dramatic changes, including declines in sea ice extent and thickness, ice sheets and glaciers, snow cover and duration and permafrost depth. These changes are having alarming direct and indirect consequences for terrestrial species, habitats and ecosystems. Such impacts are well documented and discussed for plants, birds and mammals, and we are beginning to understand the extent of links bet...

Dementia is a major public health challenge, and Apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) ε4 is strongly associated with all-cause dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We aim to quantify the overall contribution of modifiable lifestyle, adiposity, socioeconomic status (SES), and health conditions occurring before dementia, to the association between ε4 genotype and the development of all-cause dementia, with AD examined as a majo...

mRNA delivered by microneedle patch (MNP) can enable painless delivery, reduced need for healthcare expertise, and improved thermostability. In this study, we investigated formulation and manufacturing approaches for developing MNPs that deliver mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) encoding luciferase as a reporter protein during MNP fabrication and storage, including mRNA-LNP concentration, formulation, pH, excipients, and...